Peter Fojtu,
Mark Brown,
Gunnar Jacob
Biography
Born in Geneva, Switzerland on June 12, 1712
One brother named François
Mother died during childbirth
Father was a watchmaker, exiled from Geneva
At young age was inspired by his family
He loved to read from an early age
Dropped out of school at the age of twelve
Biography
He ran away from Geneva in 1728
Failed at several different trades
His adopter was a wealthy widow
Rousseau received a rudimentary education
In 1761, he wrote the novel, La’ Nouvelle Heloise
Published The Social Contract in 1762, along with his
novel Emile
Died on 2 July, 1778
Legacy of “the idea of general will”
Philosophical ideas
Believed that people are good when they are born
Bad people have been corrupted by society
Believed that people should not govern themselves
Believed that people are self centered
How a person is raised greatly affects how they are
Civilization should be seen as slowly decaying
Beliefs in Government
Everyone must be free
Claims that monarchy is always the strongest,
necessary in all states in times of crisis
Claims that aristocracy, or rule by the few, is most
stable
Believed that a truly free government is one where
everyone votes
Believed that people should not put their
ambitions first
All citizens committed to the common good
Opinion
Effected the French Revolution through his literature
The French were diplomatic friends with the English
colonies
His novels inspired education for everyone
"Man is born free, everywhere else he is in chains”
(Rousseau)
He believed that people should practice
representative assembly
Citations
"JEAN JACQUES ROUSSEAU." JEAN JACQUES ROUSSEAU. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2012.
<http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/agexed/aee501/rousseau.html>.
Bertram, Christopher. "Jean Jacques Rousseau." (Stanford Encyclopedia
of Philosophy). Stanford Encyclopedia of Psychology, 2010. Web.
13 Oct. 2012. <http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/rousseau/>.
"Jean-Jacques Rousseau - Biography." Jean-Jacques Rousseau. The
European Graduate School, n.d. Web. 13 Oct. 2012.
<http://www.egs.edu/library/jean-jacquesrousseau/biography/>.
Delaney, James. "Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy." Rousseau,
Jean-Jacques []. N.p., 21 Oct. 2005. Web. 14 Oct. 2012.
<http://www.iep.utm.edu/rousseau/>.
"Internet History Sourcebooks." Internet History Sourcebooks. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 14 Oct. 2012.
<http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/rousseaucontract2.asp>.
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